Energy & Environmental Law

Residents who live near a waste dump and wood-waste processing facility in Elkhart won a default judgment of more than $50
million against the former owners. The sum appears largely a symbolic figure, however.

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed tougher new limits on Tuesday on smokestack emissions from nearly two dozen states
— including Indiana — that burden downwind areas with air pollution from power plants they can't control.

Even though a utility company completed many of the projects it received approval for regarding modifications of coal-powered
generating stations, that does not render an appeal by various environmental groups moot, the Indiana Court of Appeals held
Thursday.

Indiana and 22 other states filed a legal challenge Friday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule requiring
existing power plants to make technological changes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The rule change is expected to unleash
a flood of lawsuits from lawyers challenging everything from the timing to the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s
signature climate initiative.

A family that sold mineral rights to a company but reserved the rights to oil and gas from certain producing wells was not
restricted by the deed from making the reserved wells deeper, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Friday.

A northern Indiana business that filed a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission when its gas bills were
higher than expected lost its appeal of the agency’s dismissal of the complaint Friday.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. will pay a fine of nearly $3 million and spend another $2.8 million on pollution controls at its
distribution terminals in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.

The Supreme Court of the United States says a group of energy companies can be sued under state antitrust laws for illegally
manipulating natural gas prices more than a decade ago during California’s energy crisis.

A 37-year fight over a planned solid waste landfill in Anderson ended recently, concluding one of the longest environmental
battles in state history. Only a few loads of trash were ever dumped at the Mallard Lake Landfill, but fortunes were spent
litigating it.

Lawyers say an appeals court ruling last year means landowners who learn of contamination on their property may be held liable
for damages even if they did nothing to directly contribute to the pollution.

Imagine seeing the price of gas drop 50 percent, then finding out you couldn’t take advantage because of a law that
excluded drivers who lease their vehicles or whose fuel tank is on the wrong side. That’s pretty much the experience
of most would-be solar energy users.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against an appeal in a protracted case involving the sale of oil and gas leases in
efforts to recoup money for victims defrauded by First Choice Management Services. The judges held the company seeking to
intervene failed to do so in a timely manner.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission failed to comply with laws and regulations when it approved an order allowing Duke
Energy to pass along to ratepayers certain construction costs for the $3 billion Edwardsport coal gasification plant in Knox
County.

Nature can’t always defend itself, but a recent gift to the Conservation Law Center in Bloomington will further the
work of preserving environmental resources and open doors to more students drawn to a clinical experience in conservation
law.